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Jan 25
2012

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Warning To All Book Publications - E-book Conversion Is No Worries.

Print publishers pack the halls of eBook conversion seminars concerned to learn the joys of this new art. Truth is, electronic book conversion is a no-brainer. What is not is ways to actually earn money from eBooks.

I've seen this occur before, most particularly with bands and writers. The former posts their music on iTunes. "Hey, its real now," they assert with a sense of achievement. But nothing happens.

Do it alone writers do the same, posting their books to Amazon. Its real, its for sale, but nothing happens. How come? Because making something prepared for sale does not compare to actual sales. It is what I call the "If you build it they're going to come parable. Sorry, people. The "Field of Dreams," though a wonderful, feel good movie, has no basis in fact.

You are now able to see why the print publishing industry's current fascination with e-book conversion is a deja vu moment for me. Whats peculiar is that they know better. They understand that book sales are a simple result of tried and true advertisement. Yet the fascination of the new paradigm of e-Book publishing leads many to (reach|come to|make} exaggerated assumptions, the e-book world is somehow different.

Once the conversion mystique is seen for what it is, a relative no brainer, the cloak of intimidation is gone, disclosing that eBooks need the same promotional ability as do standard books.

The final analysis. Nothing really happens if there ain't no promotion. So dont worry about the small minutia like eBook conversion. It only hides the true problem, that print publishers, mostly stuck in the 20th century, {lack the promotional talents essential to moving product in the new paradigm. Specifically, online marketing talents.

Conventional print companies have been conspicuously absent in the face of 2 latest and certain circumstances.

Go-it-alone eBook writers like John Locke and Amanda Hocking, both of whom have sold over a million items of their electronic books on Amazon, have proven to the chagrin of old-school publishers that they just dont need a book publication deal. And who could argue with that? The revenue speaks for itself.

The price point of e-Books, anywhere from free to appx. three dollars, has totally disturbed typical pricing models, leaving no space for conventional print publications who are encumbered with costs and overhead for which savvy go it alone are not.

But the situation for book publishers isnt as dreadful as it appears. After understanding that the pricing of the E-Book market has been interrupted by self-publishers, a sweet spot is exposed at a higher tier, namely Multi media eBook publishing.

Here's why...

MultiMedia eBooks enjoy higher pricing parameters, permitting book publishers a workable entry point to re-confirm their credibility and price.

Very few self-published writers possess the resources, financial or otherwise, to produce prime quality Multi media eBooks.

MultiMedia eBook with self-contained video

Sounds great, but how?

I guess some book publishers will decide to go it alone by boning up on the skills and resources critical to creating MultiMedia eBooks. To those who do, best of luck.

But an a lot less expensive and risky proposition will be to form coalitions with corporations that already possess the necessary expertise. Likely suspects are music publishers, video archivists, and corporations that concentrate on Multi-Media eBooks production and promotional services.

For first to market considerations, book publishers would be best served by employing their existing back catalog rather than creating net new Multi media eBooks from nothing. Not only will this plan of action afford speed to market, and it adapts well to leveraging existing Multimedia assets, effectively breathing new life into them without shouldering further costs of creating other ones.

Then again, I imagine book publishers can continue to sit on the sidelines with the hope that one day the E-book market will stabilize at a way higher price. But I wouldnt bet on it. Whats more, a sector that takes a do nothing and see approach is obviously, not in the market. Such is the case of the book publishing industry today. Nonetheless it just cant last. The clock is running.
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